Most houses these days aren’t even built with a fireplace in mind. Housing codes in some cities have put a damper on the installation of traditional wood burning fireplaces. Alternative heating sources that don’t require the collection of wood and the cleanup of ash are another reason why fireplace installation in new homes isn’t so popular.
But, fireplaces are so beautiful. They are great for hanging around on cold nights when you want to just spend some quality time with your family. The problem is that installing a traditional wood burning fireplace can cost thousands of dollars. It’s actually somewhere above ten thousand.
But, there are cost effective solutions to install a fireplace without the traditional wood burning features that cost so much. Most of this work you can do yourself. But if you have no hope of ever being even an amateur construction worker, then any work you might need done won’t be too expensive to outsource to a contractor.
Your Own Design
The greatest way to save yourself money is to build a ventless fireplace with a fireplace insert and use gel fuel to make your fire. You can literally put a fireplace anywhere with just these items. Of course, you’ll need wood to build a structure and faux textures for your decorations. But, you can have a fireplace in a matter of days rather than a few weeks.
If you want your own design, you can use your imagination to literally take you anywhere. First, decide where you want to put your fireplace. Figure out where the studs are in the wall. You can either locate your fireplace in the wall between the studs or in front of the wall. Build a faux hearth, a surround and even a faux chimney to the ceiling if you want. You won’t have to build it through the roof. It’s just there for looks.
Bookshelves on the side are a nice touch. If you build a faux chimney, a flat screen television looks great above the mantel. Now, place your fireplace insert in the fireplace and light your gel fuel. Depending on how much quality and craftsmanship you put in the design of your fireplace, it will look exactly the way you want, completely original and totally functional.
Traditional Designs
If you don’t want to go through even working on a faux fireplace design with a real flame setup, then you can have the design of your choice. A ventless fireplace can arrive at your door in a matter of days and within an hour after arrival, you can be enjoying the crackling fire with a cup of coffee in your hand.
There are plenty of traditional looking fireplaces with rich wood finishes and wonderful features. You can choose between arch designs with shelving on the side or marble finishes with huge columns. Oak, Mahogany, and Walnut are just a few of the wood finishes while several faux stone finishes exist on cast concrete. Stand alone fireplaces can sit flush against the wall anywhere you want to place them or corner designs can bring new life to any corner around your home.
Contemporary Designs
Of course, you can get out of yesterday with personal ventless fireplaces and small table designs. See through both sides of the fireplace with a glass diamond structure you can place on the coffee table in the living room. You can also enjoy a wonderful fire coming out of rock.
New designs are being created all the time from outdoor fireplaces that you can enjoy on your patio to indoor fireplaces you can enjoy in your bathroom. Small, medium and large fireplaces for any style, ventless fireplaces are the perfect alternative to the traditional wood burning fireplace that has caused so much trouble in the past.
